On the splitting effect of cognitive style poles: twenty years later

Studies in the field of cognitive styles encounter a number of contradictions. In our view, the reason lies in the psychological ambiguity of cognitive styles’ indicators. We developed a quadripolar model of cognitive styles, according to which the poles of each cognitive styles are split into two sub-poles, reflecting radically different mechanisms of mental activity. Thus, cognitive styles is not a bipolar but a quadripolar dimension. According to this model, each style pole comprises two latent subgroups that can be distinguished based on the ratio of style indicators — the primary and the supplementary. One of these subgroups is productive, while the other is unproductive. Consequently, within a single cognitive style, four subgroups are theoretically expected to exist (two productive and two unproductive). The goal of this article is to analyze the results of studies on the splitting effect of primary cognitive style poles over the past 20 years to assess the prospects of the quadripolar model. Research over the last two decades confirms the existence of a splitting effect for the poles of all major cognitive styles (impulsivity/reflectivity, field dependence / independence, narrow/broad categorization, rigidity/flexibility of control, cognitive simplicity/complexity, concrete/abstract conceptualization). This effect manifests in significant differences among representatives of style subgroups in intellectual and personal domains, as well as in age, educational, and clinical contexts. Thus, firstly, we can talk about the psychological heterogeneity of the poles of CS, since different mechanisms of mental activity (accordingly contemporary style studies need to account for sample heterogeneity and limitations in using linear data processing methods). Secondly, both productive and unproductive subgroups are represented at each style pole, the presence and the ratio of which is determined by individual differences in the ability to involuntarily control of information processing.

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